Feeding the Clan

Neither Octavia or Vinyl put up any resistance as they were taken to their quarters. They marvelled at how comfortable they were, more like the bridal suite of a luxury hotel then a prison cell. Apart from the fact that they were locked in and the bars on the windows, it was easy to imagine that they were still free. "Vinyl...how do I know you really are you and not some changeling replacement here to spy on me and feed off my love? Come and whisper in my ear one of your embarrassing moments that only you and I know about." When Vinyl did so Octavia hugged her, kissing her all over her face. "It is you, it really is you. For now at least, we have to do whatever they tell us. Even, although I know you hate it as much as I do, training our replacements."

Vinyl nodded her head and spoke, something she very rarely did. Vinyl was a mare of few words and chose them carefully when she did speak. "You're right."

"For now, we just behave and maybe in time we can both escape from here. It might not be so bad anyway. Instead of just cocooning us to extract our love, or making us do hard labour, they want us to do our normal jobs and they are willing to pay us well. And their *Hive* is more like Canterlot Castle then some gigantic wasps nest.
If we play our cards right, we might even genuinely enjoy living here. I still wish the Queen had found a way to ask us nicely rather then kidnapping us on our honeymoon." The sun was starting to set so Octavia looked around for a light and soon found it. When she took the lid off a pot she found a brightly glowing green ball of green webbing inside, bright enough to light up the whole room. "Ugh. So that's what changelings use for light. Still, it must save them a lot of money on electricity bills."

"Octavia, whatever happens, I will always love you." Octavia answered her wife with a nice big kiss on the lips, and then kissed her forehead, her face, her neck, and kissed lower. Vinyl lay on their new bed and spread her legs. Octavia licked at each of Vinyl's breasts, taking time and trouble to bring sexual pleasure to her wife, and then began licking Vinyl's clit, causing Vinyl to nicker with pleasure. Unknown to the two mares, the love they had for each other was leaking outside the room, and a nearby changeling outside opened the valves of his emotion gathering sacs and fed himself on sweet, sweet love that as a non-infiltrator he had not tasted since Hearth's Warming Eve. Soon enough more changelings arrived on the scene and soon the whole corridor was filled with greedy changelings feasting themselves on raw pony love instead of doing their jobs. Floors were unswept, doors that should be guarded were left unsecured, and even some shops were being left untended, tempting other changelings to steal.

Contrary to what most ponies thought about Changeling Hives, there were not anywhere near the large numbers
of pony cocoons hanging from the ceilings that there were thought to be. Ponies that were cocooned and not quickly replaced by a changeling would in most cases, sooner or later be reported as missing. Whilst ponies could and did go missing for a multitude of reasons, if too many with jobs and families vanished at the same time the Royal Guard would start a major investigation. Homeless ponies were much easier to abduct, but few of them had much love left in them because of the general harshness of their lives.

When it came to replacing them long term with a changeling, the changeling would need to find out as much as possible about what the pony was like, as capturing the pony, even if it were a Changeling Queen who did it, would not give any access to the pony memories. Generally ponies were only cocooned in three circumstances; as emergency self defence, to replace a greatly rich or powerful pony whose replacement would greatly benefit the changeling Clan, or to deal with some pony who came across a changeling Hive and recognised it as one. Whilst most Hives had a few cocooned ponies and other cocooned sentient creatures around, they were generally used only either to feed the changeling grubs and unhatched eggs, or as a personal food source for the Changeling Queen and her closest councillors.

Free love was only granted as a rule twice a year to a Changeling Clan; on the birthday of it's ruling Queen, and on either Hearth's Warming Eve or New Year's Eve, when the whole clan traditionally feasted both on meat and on many kinds of love. At all other times, for a large amount of free love to suddenly appear within the clan's territory would be as if a pony started throwing food and money randomly around for everypony to have. As the news spread from changeling to changeling that a wave of free love was seeping out and flooding a corridor, the Queen herself got to hear of it and sent out a Hivemind message. "All you changelings who are gorging yourself; get back to your jobs now or there will be punishments for all of you. Don't make me have to come over there myself." Reluctantly, their stomachs and hive stomachs full, the changelings slunk back to their jobs. None wanted to face the wrath of their Queen.

The next day Octavia and Vinyl woke up in each other's arms. "Well, Vinyl, soon we will be playing music for Clan Chrysalis. I hope they like it and don't do anything horrible to us." A changeling knocked on the door, and presented two books of music,a cello, a violin and a double base to Octavia. "There is no point in expecting you to play wonderful music for us without your tools. Vinyl, you will get yours later on, by tomorrow at the latest. You will be playing at a royal occasion for the Five Clans of Equestria so don't mess up or the Queen will be furious and might take it out on Vinyl Scratch." Vinyl glared at him and he left the room without locking it. Octavia yawned and stretched and got up, and began looking for songs to play that the Changelings would enjoy.

"They would see Hive of Darkness as the greatest of insults. The Symphony of Moon and Sun is said to bring Princess Luna to it's source, but if she dislikes the way it is played, she ruins the career of the one who plays it. I would frankly rather not be rescued then lose my musical career, thank you very much. I don't think they would want the Equestrian National Anthem to be played, or The Devil's Away With The Changeling. And it is totally the wrong time of year to play Santa Hooves Is Coming To Town. "

Vinyl clopped her hooves together four times and Octavia gave her a kiss just below her horn.

"Vinyl, you are a genius! The Four Seasons. How can any changeling possibly be offended by that? Hopefully they will love it." She picked up the violin and began tuning it up.

Soon enough Queen Chrysalis herself turned up at their quarters. "You will be playing a concert not just to me and my Clan, but to four other Changeling Queens and their royal entourages , so please do not let me down or I'll have you digging tunnels underground for a while, or even cleaning out the latrines if I'm really annoyed."

"Do not worry, your Majesty, I will do my best."

That evening after plenty of practise Octavia was ushered to the stage in the Great Hall. The lights were covered over except for a single green spotlight and she saw what seemed like twinkling stars all around her. In fact they were the eyes of the Changelings and it seemed that the whole of Clan Chrysalis was present.

She started with the tunes of spring, of growing plants, of Winter Wrap Up when everypony cooperated to wake hibernating animals, clear away the snow and fly it up to Cloudsdale to be melted down for rain, and pull the clouds away.

Then she played a tune of summer, of pleasant hot sun and scheduled rain so nothing got too hot or too dry, of ice creams and picnics and swimming in the lakes and rivers of Equestria.

Next her tune told of the Equestrian autumn and the Running Of The Leaves, and how it gradually grew colder and windier. Birds started heading south and those animals who hibernated went to sleep.

Last of all she played the tunes of winter. Of frozen rivers and lakes and deep snow and the chill in the air. Of ponies buying presents and Hearth's Warming trees and the night-time visit by Santa Hooves on Heath's Warming Eve. And then the tune became happy-a tune of gift giving and of feasting and plays in the theatre and general merriment. Even Foalsom Prison had special food on that day. Finally she ended the performance with the Equestrian New Year Tune, Old Long Past. As the last notes died away and she bowed the Great Hall was filled with the clopping of changeling hooves and cheering. She bowed to them and the lights came on, bathing the Hall in bright green light.

Queen Chrysalis came forward and said "Your playing is truly amazing, I grant you fifteen thousand Hive Talents, a talent being a silver coin being worth as much as an Equestrian bit. And you will find plenty to buy here, from rare silks and satins to all manner of books and other enjoyable things and Equestrian foods. Come along and meet the other Queens, they will be happy to meet you. Perhaps they will want you to go on tour, entertaining their Changelings too. You really do have a good future here, that's for sure. Her Royal Highnesses Cassandra, Cassiopeia, Stridula and Nabidae would love to meet you. Be sure to show them the same respect that you would for Princess Celestia. "

They bowed low to the Queens, each the same size as an alicorn like Queen Chrysalis but a different colour; red, purple, dark green and golden respectively.

"Octavia, your music was delightful. I have a gift for you...a fiddle made of gold. There is an old changeling tale about it that it was won from a devil from Tartarus in a fiddling contest, but I don't believe the myth, as no bad luck has come to those who play it," Queen Stridula said. "You will most likely never be allowed to leave the Changeling lands, but you will be deeply famous within them. If Queen Chrysalis ever tires of having you around, I would want you."

Vinyl was clearly feeling rather jealous at all the attention being lavished on her lover whilst she got none at all. She wondered when it would be her turn to shine and if her type of music would be as appreciated